[TheRealVille]

Not all coal companies have the luxury of having 3 and 4 years of permits in their back pocket, and for the ones that do have permits, my only hope is that they have already built their ponds and started the valley fills.

Also, not all coal companies sell solely by contracts, some do, some sell exclusively on the spot market and some sells are both contract and the spot market.

If you worked for a Utility company would you sign a 18 month contract with a coal company that only had 12 months of reserves permitted.

Gas sell cheaper without the contracts. Do you fault Obama and the EPA or the powerhouses that are buying the gas. The whole point is, conservatives will stop at nothing in the coal layoffs, to blame Obama and the EPA. It isn't their fault at present. It is cheap coal, (not being mined because of coal prices), and even cheaper gas, without contracts.